RADIO
AUTHORITY PUBLISHES ASSESSMENT OF RE-AWARDED LICENCE FOR ALTON/HASLEMERE

The Radio Authority has today (1
February) published the details of the Alton/Haslemere licence re-award made to
Delta Radio (Delta Radio Ltd).The
Authority re-awarded the licence on 13 January 2000.

A copy of the full assessment is
attached.

ENDS

NOTE
TO EDITORS

The Radio Authority is responsible for licensing and regulating
Independent Radio in accordance with the statutory requirements of the
Broadcasting Acts 1990 and 1996.It
plans frequencies, awards licences, regulates programming and advertising, and
plays an active role in the discussion and formulation of policies which affect
the Independent Radio industry and its listeners.

The licence was awarded to
Delta Radio Ltd., to run for a further period of eight years from 22 November
2000.

When licensing Independent
Radio services, it is the duty of the Authority under the Broadcasting Act 1990
(“the Act”) to do all that it can to secure the provision within the UK of a
range and diversity of local services (section 85(2)(b) of the Act).Furthermore, under section 85(3) of the Act
the Authority must discharge its functions in the manner which it considers is
best calculated to:

(a)facilitate the provision
of licensed services which (taken as a whole) are of high quality and offer a
wide range of programmes calculated to appeal to a variety of tastes and
interests; and

(b)ensure fair and effective
competition in the provision of such services and services connected with them.

Under section 105 of the
Act, the matters to which the Authority shall have regard when determining
whether, or to whom, to grant a local licence are:

(a)the ability of each
applicant to maintain the proposed service throughout the licence period;

(b)the extent to which the
proposed service would cater for the tastes and interests of persons living in
the area or locality for which the service would be provided, and, where it is
proposed to cater for any particular tastes and interests of such persons, the
extent to which the service would so cater;

(c)the extent to which the
proposed service would broaden the range of programmes available by way of
local services to persons living in the relevant area or locality, and, in
particular, the extent to which the service would cater for tastes and interest
which are different from those already catered for by existing local services
in the area; and

(d)the extent to which any
application is supported by persons living in that area.

While the requirements of
sections 85 and 105 of the Broadcasting Act 1990 will invariably form the basis
of all awards and re-awards, each licence award will be made on an individual
basis, with regard to the factors which, in the view of the Authority, are
particularly relevant to that case.

The existing licence for the
Alton area, held by Wey Valley Radio Ltd., expires on 21 November 2000.In May 1999, the Authority agreed that the
Haslemere relay frequency, which was attached to the Guildford FM licence,
could be transferred to become instead part of the Alton licence.Because this represented a substantial
redefinition of the existing Alton licence area, the licence was – in line with
the Authority’s published policy - fully
re-advertised without implementation of the ‘special application procedure’,
which would otherwise potentially allow the possibility of so-called ‘fast
track’ re-licensing of the existing operator.When it re-advertised the Alton local licence, the Authority invited
public comment on the local radio needs of listeners in the area, and the type
of programme service required. Copies of the non-confidential sections of the
applications were made available for public inspection in the public libraries
in Alton and Haslemere, and the Authority’s offices in London. A notice was
issued on 19 October 1999 inviting public comments on the applications. The
Authority took all replies into account when reaching its decision.

Both applications were
considered carefully by the Authority in accordance with the Act, and as
against the advertised criteria set out in the Authority’s Notes of Guidance
for Local Licence Applicants (Re-advertised Licences) and the coverage brief
for this licence, issued at the date of the licence re-advertisement.The applicants were invited to respond to
written questions on programming, audience and support, and finance.Telephone interviews were conducted on the
composition and history of the applicant groups.

Assessment of the winning application

UKRD Group Ltd., the
controlling shareholder in Delta Radio Ltd., has been committed to providing
locally-orientated radio services in both Alton and Haslemere for many
years.As a result of this the group
has substantial experience of the local market, an advantage in maximising the
possible revenue available in a small licence area.Members felt that this, and the benefit of seven years’
operational experience, had enabled Delta to develop a realistic business plan
on which to base its proposals.

Of the two applicants, Delta
Radio provided far greater evidence of local support for its proposals.A substantial number of letters from local
supporters accompanied the application, and the group’s audience research
survey demonstrated that listeners were generally satisfied with the existing service.

Members were impressed by the specialist
community output that has been a feature of the Alton service since its launch
as Wey Valley Radio, and noted the regard in which it is held by the
audience.However, the Members were
concerned about the proposal that local news in the breakfast sequence would be
pre-recorded the night before.